Sheryl Laukat, CEO Tevis Laukat, President

CEO Sheryl Laukat tells a little bit about the history of Cannonball...

"Tevis & I met in 1982. I was a Jr. High Band Director and Tevis was sponsored by the local music store to visit my band classes as a guest clinician. We both loved the saxophone. It was my major instrument in college and Tevis was a professional musician, playing all the doubles, but especially the saxophone. He had a B.S. degree in music performance. We soon married, and several years later we discovered something grand!

Tevis and I both played on valued vintage saxophones. But one day a newer saxophone came into our hands. The trouble was, it didn't play or sound very good. Tevis regulated it and it improved, but the sound and the pitch was still lacking. For fun, we began to experiment with the horn, altering the air flow and changing the acoustical properties of the instrument. We were amazed at what happened! Through divine inspiration we soon became very good at altering the pitch of any note we wanted, and changing the tone quality of the instrument. If we wanted clearer altissimo we could do it. If we wanted more lows, or focus we could do it. Before long, it was nearly impossible to tell the difference in sound between our valued vintage horns and this new horn and the pitch surpassed our vintage horns. We were jumping up and down with excitement! We knew we really had something! We were so excited that we risked everything and mortgaged our home to pursue our new adventure!

We first needed to find a place to make our saxophones."

Where are Cannonballs Made?

Cannonball factories in Taiwan.

Our research about manufacturers led us to Taiwan, where we visited every manufacturer we could find. There were many!! We finally settled on a young manufacturer that we could see had great talent, capability, and who was also willing to do whatever we asked him. This was very important to us as we wanted to have our own instrument made from scratch. At that time, he only made a few sopranos for Europe. We wanted to change the quality of instrument that was currently being produced.

We wanted to use our own molds, key positions, alloys, etc. We'd say, "Lets make those screws stainless steel", and they would reply, "Well, it will cost more", and we'd say "That's OK!" We eventually became partners by contract and we grew to 3 factories. From nearly nothing we built these factories up together and formed "Cannonball". We decided to have fun with this name by using ideas and motifs from the Medieval Period.

Cannonball factories in Taiwan.

Cannonball factory employees

Salt Lake City, Utah Facility

Cannonball facility in Sandy, Utah.

After our saxophones are assembled and finished, they are shipped to Cannonball's brand new 12,000 square foot facility in Sandy, Utah - 15 miles outside of Salt Lake City. It is in Utah that the most important part of Cannonball happens. It is here that we hand customize each instrument. Each instrument is re-regulated and checked for a perfect seal. Then, a professional saxophonist and master acoustical technician plays the horn and customizes it to ensure it has great body, resonance, and focus. If there are any pitch anomalies they are also fixed at this time. This ensures a high level of quality control and is the reason that Cannonballs are so consistent in playability and workmanship. You really can say that every Cannonball is a "Custom Instrument" as they have all truly been hand customized. A Cannonball saxophone never leaves Salt Lake City until it surpasses all expectations and is so fun to play it is hard to put down. Our professional saxophone players / acoustical adjusters often comment, "I wish we didn't have to sell this one! I want to take it home for myself."

Owners of Cannonball

Sheryl Laukat

Sheryl Laukat, CEO
Personal Saxophone: Big Bell Stone Series Lacquered Alto

Sheryl was raised in Utah. Saxophones were played by her family and extended family so she kept up the tradition. (Her mother still plays and performs with her saxophone at age 78.) Sheryl graduated from Weber State University with a degree in Music Education and an emphasis in saxophone. She was the band director at Millcreek Jr. High School in Bountiful, Utah. Sheryl donated her time for over 11 years as the pianist and arranger of the International Children's Choir which performed for visiting ambassadors, royalty, and religious leaders from all over the world. She currently serves as the Vice President for the Board of Directors of the choir. Sheryl also serves on the National Advisory Committee for Weber State University and will be honored as a Distinguished Alumni 2010.

What does Sheryl do at Cannonball? She oversees all operations. While managing instrument production, she enjoys frequent communication with our partners in Taiwan, Germany and China. She also heads International Distribution. The marketing aspect of Cannonball is one of her favorite fortes, as is talking with musicians and dealers. Above all, Sheryl loves happy customers.

Tevis Laukat

Tevis Laukat, President
Personal Saxophones: Vintage Reborn: Dark Amber Lacquer Alto, Dark Amber Lacquer Soprano Big Bell Stone Series: Raven Tenor, Raven Bari

Tevis was raised in beautiful Sacramento, California. He started playing clarinet at a young age and he quickly added the saxophone and flute. As a junior in high school, he was invited to play with the Consumnes River College Jazz Band. He later attended Brigham Young University where he mastered all of the woodwinds and graduated with a music performance degree. During college, he was awarded outstanding soloist in several jazz festivals. As lead tenor sax player, he toured Hungary and Romania with BYU's Synthesis Jazz Band, which was the very first non-communist musical group allowed in each of those countries. After graduating, he had a successful career as a professional woodwind doubler in both Utah and California. He played in the Concord Pavilion with the Mills Brothers, Barry Manilow, Tom Jones, Johnny Mathis and the Spinners. He also played for the Donny and Marie Television Show, Ray Charles, Bob Hope, the Utah Symphony, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, just to name a few. He played in live musicals for 20 years in Salt Lake City's Pioneer Memorial Theater and Sacramento's Music Circus, which often included New York original casts. Besides live performances he has recorded for television, radio commercials, CD's, and many major motion pictures. What does Tevis do at Cannonball? He oversees and participates in hand acoustical customization of the horns. He also creates, experiments with and tests new ideas. Communication is his talent and it is a great pleasure for him to communicate with musicians and dealers. His dealer area concentrates on USA and Canada but he enjoys being involved with all Cannonball dealers and distributors worldwide. He provides laughter for the staff by using his kid-like enthusiasm for life, good food, cars, and especially great musical instruments!


Cannonball Acoustical Experts and Quality Control Staff

Daron Bradford
Professional Clarinet and Woodwind Artist,
Head Clarinet Acoustical Customizer

Personal Clarinet: Piacere

Daron Bradford, our main acoustical expert, was the principal clarinetist for the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra and played for the Donny and Marie Osmond TV show. He currently plays solo performances on clarinet, saxophone, and celtic instruments with the Utah Symphony and the Orchestra at Temple Square. Daron is a faculty member at Brigham Young University School of Music teaching saxophone and clarinet, and is also a first-call recording artist and freelance musician on all woodwinds.


Randal Clark
Professional Saxophonist, Acoustical Expert, Director of Media and Education

Personal Saxophones: Big Bell Stone Series: A5 "Mad Meg", T5 "Mad Meg. Vintage Reborn: Dark Amber Lacquer Alto, SA5 BiceB "Raven"

Randal plays and acoustically customizes most of the Alto and Soprano saxophones. He is a professional saxophone player in the Salt Lake area. He has a Bachelors and Masters degree in Music Education from the University of Utah with an emphasis in saxophone and conducting. He is a frequent recording artist for commercials, television, CD's, and has been featured on many soundtracks for computer game software. He has appeared at the Park City International Jazz Festival and the Salt Lake City International Jazz Festival. While a member of the University of Utah's Jazz Ensemble One, the ensemble took 1st place at the collegiate competition at the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival at Moscow, Idaho in 1996. Randal currently plays principal alto saxophone in the Utah Wind Symphony. In addition to working for Cannonball, he is a full-time high school band, orchestra, and jazz band teacher. His ensembles have been consistently the top in the state. He is the conductor of the Canyons Symphony Orchestra, an honors orchestra involving students from all over the Salt Lake Valley, and has been the conductor of the Rocky Mountain Wind Symphony, a professional adult wind symphony in the area. We are also happy to have him serve as our education coordinator. Randal is in demand as a guest soloist, clinician, conductor, and adjudicator.


Ryan Lillywhite
Professional Saxophonist, Acoustical Expert,
Parts Manager, International Representative
Personal Saxophones: Vintage Reborn: Dark Amber Laquer Alto, Brute Tenor
Big Bell Stone Series: Black with Silver Keys Tenor

Ryan plays and acoustically customizes most of the Tenor and Baritone saxophones. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in business management and a minor in music. As the lead tenor sax player for three years in BYU's top jazz band, Synthesis, he toured with the band and was a frequently featured soloist. Ryan has performed with numerous ensembles throughout Utah including the Utah Symphony. He performs and records regularly and has taught saxophone and clarinet lessons. He can be heard on a number of soundtracks and CDs. An innovative musician, he has won awards in organ and piano competitions and played ukulele for a Tahitian dance team. Ryan is also fluent in French and Tahitian and volunteers his time to interpret these languages for worldwide conferences. He has had extensive training and experience in instrument repair, facilitating his roles as parts manager and contributor to the design of Cannonball instruments.


Ryan Laukat
Professional Trumpeter, Acoustical Expert, Master Engraver
Personal Trumpets:

Ryan plays and acoustically customizes all of the Cannonball trumpets. He is a lifelong musician and has played trumpet at the University of Utah in the Jazz Band and Wind Symphony, as well as in community orchestras, musicals, and events. He is a current member of the Utah Wind Symphony, and has performed many times as a guest artist with the International Children's Choir. He is also a professional artist/illustrator; he works as the head of hand engraving at Cannonball and is part of the advertising team. His art is featured on many Cannonball products and advertisements. The new Lynx brace design is Ryan's original creation. He is also a freelance illustrator and specializes in books, board games, portraits, and advertisements. He is fluent in Spanish. He is also a trained saxophone and clarinet technician and runs all laser engraving at the Salt Lake City facility.


Quality Control Staff

Julee	Lindsay	Rachel	Chris	Rachel
Corrine	Mary	Austin	Robert

Big Bell Stone Series

The professional level Big Bell® Stone Series™ helps create a Big Bold Warm sound and yet allows you to play with the most subtle nuances. In 1999 we soldered together hand-hammered prototype bells of different sizes of flares, extended bell rims, and bores in experimentation to create a contemporary version of horns with big rich sounds from the early to mid 1900's.

Each Big Bell Stone Series saxophone comes standard with two hand-customized necks. The first is the original style neck, creating a traditional sound. The second is the FAT NECK(R) which has the octave tube is on the under side of the neck, creating less resistance of air-flow, resulting in a FAT sound - more lows, more mids, less highs.

Visually, the Big Bell Stone Series combines medieval art with nature's stunning beauty. Sixteen semi-precious stones form the deep earth adorn specially designed keys, necks and lightweight guards. The combination of the stones, the hand-drawn design of the guards and engravings, and the unique array of finishes make each saxophone an art piece in itself.

We designed the Big Bell Stone Series Saxophones for you to be able to play without limits, feeling each note vibrate in your hands.

Gerald Albright Signature Series

The professional level Gerald Albright Signature model

Vintage Reborn™ Series

The professional level Vintage Reborn™

Sceptyr™ Series

The semi-professional level Sceptyr™ model

Alcazar™ Series

The student level Alcazar™ model

Raw bells before shaping.

The next few pages detail the superior construction and innovations of Cannonball saxophones. Quality in our parts and construction is extremely important and top priority. From the smallest screw to the tube itself, Cannonball saxophones have proven themselves to stand the test of time, and the true test of professional and student use.

The body, bow, and bell go through an annealing process several times. In the annealing process the metal is first heated up and then cooled slowly to allow the instrument to be pliable during the shaping process. This also gives the horn a warmer, more even tone.

The horn is then Hand-Hammered. This is what makes the metal hard and gives the instrument great ring and resonance. Many manufacturers send the the instrument through a machine to shape it. We do not! Our hand-hammering process makes our metal harder and rigid for increased durability. This is one reason we have that great Cannonball sound.

A master craftsman hand-hammering the bell for superior ring.

Bells after hand-hammering.

The edge of the bell is being finished.

Ribbed Construction

Adding to the durability of Cannonball saxophones is our ribbed construction. This is a must in saxophone construction. Cannonball saxophones (excl. baris) are built with ribbed construction. The posts are soldered onto metal ribs that are attached to the body of the saxophone. This makes the instrument much stronger and more rigid which keeps the instrument in adjustment longer and helps prevent body dents from falls.

Ribbed construction also makes the horn easier to repair if damage does occur. This means that if serious damage is done to the saxophone the repair costs will be less.

Soldering ribs onto the body.

Ribs are soldered onto body awaiting finishing process.

Finished product with no keys.

Brass Alloy and Power Forged Keys

Power forged keys.

All of the alloys we use were tested extensively until we found the alloys which produced the sounds we were looking for. Our brass alloy for rich gold lacquered and mad meg finishes comes from Japan and lends itself to the sound of a vintage / traditional saxophone. Our brass alloy for all other finishes was developed through Japanese and Taiwanese cooperation. It is composed of a different percentage of copper and other components. This alloy achieved the sound we were looking for in our black nickel and silver plated horns.

Metallurgy tests show that our keys are as hard or harder than other major brands. The hardness of this alloy helps each saxophone stay in optimum adjustment.

Other Innovations

Bracing

Cannonball double braces the low C, B, and Bb on Big Bell Stone Series altos and tenors as well as the low A on the bari. There is also a double brace for added strength between the bell and body on Big Bell Stone Series tenor models.

Double brace on low Bb, B, and C

Left Hand Stabilizing Bar

We are the innovators who developed the left-hand stabilizing bar to keep the spatula from moving back and forth. This brace adds even more sturdiness and rigidity to our saxophones, and is now included on all of our professional models (excl. curved sopranos).

Stabilizing bar.

Screws

Cannonball saxophones feature stainless steel tapered pivot screws and adjustment screw on the low B for ease of adjustment and free, quick action. The bow and bell key guard adjustment screws accomodate a traditional screwdriver for ease of repair.

Key height adjustment screws.

Ergonomics

The spatula keys, palm keys, and octave lever touch piece & mechanism have been completely redesigned for the stone series to be comfortable and help minimize hand motion while playing.

The spatula is designed for comfort and speed.

The octave lever promotes minimal movement while playing.

Two necks come with all professional models.

All of our Big Bell Stone Series Saxophones come standard with 2 necks. Altos and Tenors come with one Original Neck and one Fat Neck™. The patented FAT neck has the octave tube on the underside of the neck. This creates less resistance for a free-blowing experience with a "FAT" tone, and vibrant resonance.

Straight and ARC Sopranos have a straight neck and a curved neck of the same finish. The Curved neck adds warmth to the sound.

Both the Curved Soprano and the Bari have two necks of different finishes for different tone colors.

Vintage Pro Series Saxophones, Sceptyrs, and Alcazar saxophones come with one Original Neck.

Cannonball uses 5 different finish types. These 5 finishes can be combined to create a large number of unique looks which can be viewed using the links on the table below. Different finishes help create different tone colors as striking looks to individualize your Cannonball. The following are the 5 types of finishing we use:

Black Anodized Nickel

Our most popular finish is black anodized nickel plating. Plating is superior to black lacquer, because the plating bonds to the brass, becoming one with it. This helps reduce flaking. Black nickel not only offers the look people love, it has a big sound that projects into the room.

Silver

Our silver plated horns have a brilliant sound that fills the room. They are plated with 100% silver. We experimented on the exact thickness of silver plating to make the horns sound the best and discovered that dipping the horn twice in the vat of silver created the perfect effect. Three times made the vibrancy decrease. Remember silver tarnishes and if a player has hand acidity the plating will not last as long.

Unlacquered

We have a saying here at Cannonball, "Ugly is beautiful!" Yes, this raw brass will oxidize and turn green and ugly with time. Years ago, players were giving their saxophones acid baths to take off the lacquer to get that old vintage sound. We've made it so you don't have to give the acid bath. Our unlacquered horn has a nice vintage sound.

Rich Gold Lacquer

Our rich gold lacquer horns have a traditional sound.

Iced Finishes

To get an iced looking finish, the brass is sand blasted before it is plated. Typically iced finishes are a bit brighter.

Finish Combinations

When these finishes are combined many different looks are available. Cannonball has 10 standard combinations. Refer to the chart below to see these finishes and how their combination affects the tone color.

Let's review the finishes:

• Black Anodized Nickel - generally a full big sound that projects without being too bright.
• Silver - 100% silver plated that has a brilliant sound that fills the room.
• Unlacquered - Vintage sound.
• Rich Gold Lacquered - Traditional sound.

There are many variables that affect a saxophone's basic timbre. While many important ones include the physical attributes of the individual player (size, mouth cavity, posture, embouchure) as well as mouthpiece and reed setups, the finishes and customized necks can certainly affect the basic tone of the horn. Each saxophone seems to have unique qualities which combine with its player to create an individual sound. This is one of the most important reasons to try horns out at a dealer to hear how your variables will affect your personal saxophone sound.

Finish Name	Finish Description	Neck Finishes Supplied
Mad Meg (no lacquer)	We call this our "Mad Meg" model which is named after a medieval cannon. There is no Lacquer on this model.	Unlacquered / Silver
L	All rich gold lacquer	Rich gold lacquer / Silver
Ice	Rich gold lacquer body, Iced silver bow and bell, polished silver keys.	Rich gold lacquer / Silver
B	All black nickel	Black nickel / Silver
BS	Black nickel body, bow, and bell. Silver Plated Keys	Black nickel / Silver
BL	Black nickel body, bow, and bell. Rich gold lacquer Keys	Black nickel / Rich gold lacquer
B-Ice	Iced black nickel body / Iced silver bow and bell / Lacquered keys	Iced black nickel finish / Iced silver finish
B-ice B	Iced black nickel body, bow, and bell	Iced black nickel finish / Iced silver finish
Gerald Albright B	All black Nickel	Black nickel / Silver
Gerald Albright SB	Silver body, black nickel bow and bell.	Black nickel / Silver
Hotspur (HS)	Iced black nickel body, iced silver bow and bell, polished silver keys. Named after the famous medieval knight.	Iced black nickel / Iced silver
S	All silver plated	Silver / Rich gold Lacquer

Hand polishing semi-precious stone buttons.

Not only do semi-precious stones make a Cannonball saxophone beautiful, they also affect the sound. It is amazing, but true. We have conducted study after study and not only heard it, but proved it scientifically. We have a patent pending on the use of stones, and we hope to complete the patent soon. There are 16 semi-precious stones, each meticulously hand polished and set onto the Stone Series Big Bell Professional Series. There are many stone options to choose from. Look at our stones page for more information.

Semi-precious stone finger buttons.

Talented Utah artist Kelly Ricks has created original designs for the engravings on our professional instruments using motifs from the medieval period. We use a laser engraving process which is necessary to render the intricate nature of the engravings. There are also 2 models of saxophones that are hand-engraved at our Utah facility. Gerald Albright Signature Series GERALD ALBRIGHT SIGNATURE BIG BELL STONE SERIES This is the only Big Bell STONE SERIES with hand-engraving. (The others are laser engraved.) This beautiful pattern was co-created with Gerald himself. If you look at the bottom of the engraving on the front of the bell, you will see golf clubs among the striking design - Gerald loves to golf! This is unlimited and is available in Alto, Tenor, Curved and Straight Soprano. VINTAGE REBORN SERIES Vintage Series Pete Chriestlieb Engraving 1. Unlimited hand-engraving design a. ALTO & TENOR has traditional engraved flowers similar to the old vintage horns. The engraving design is always the same. The Alto and Tenor with this design also have legend Pete Christlieb's name on the horn. b. ONE-PIECE SOPRANO has traditional engraved flowers with this design. Vintage Series Seadog Engraving 2. Limited and numbered hand-engraving designs ALTO & TENOR have a hand engraving that has been originally designed by one of our Cannonball artists. The current design is "Sea Dog". Past designs have been "Pete Christlieb Race Car" and "Lady Godiva". These horns are numbered on the body to bow brace. The Sea Dog is limited to 250 tenors and 400 altos with that design. The next design will be released late 2011 or 2012. The most important thing about Cannonball is the acoustical customizing that we do to every horn. Yes our horns are beautiful, yes our horns are well made, but we also want them to play great. That's why we spend so much time customizing and working on each and every horn we sell. Specially trained and talented acoustical adjusters work on each saxophone until they are satisfied that each horn has an open altissimo, rich lows, even timbre, full-bodied sound, and in-line overtones. We want you to have that feeling of exhilaration when you play. We want you to say, "I can't put this horn down!"